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    Design, Development, Culture, and Cultural Legacies in AsiaAuthor(s): Rajeshwari GhoseSource: Design Issues, Vol. 6, No. 1, Design in Asia and Australia (Autumn, 1989), pp. 31-48Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1511576 .

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    Rajeshwari

    Ghose

    Design,

    Development,

    Culture,

    and

    Cultural

    Legacies

    in Asia

    The

    very

    idea of

    writing

    on

    contemporary

    or

    "modern"

    design

    issues

    pertaining

    to

    any country

    or

    civilization seems to

    evolve

    around two

    methodological assumptions.

    The

    first

    assumption

    is

    that

    there exists

    something

    called

    design

    as

    ontological equipment.

    If

    not,

    at least a

    belief

    that

    design

    exists as

    a

    full-fledged

    discipline

    in

    quite

    the same

    way

    as

    economics,

    sociology,

    or

    history

    exist,

    distinct

    from

    the

    specifics

    of

    disciplines

    such as

    current

    monetary

    policy of the People's Republic of China, analyses of football

    hooliganism

    in

    Britain,

    or

    the causes

    of

    World

    War

    I.

    This

    broad

    rubric

    then could accommodate

    architectural, industrial,

    com-

    munications,

    and

    fashion/garment

    design,

    woven

    together

    as

    it

    were

    by

    a common

    methodological

    thread. Constituted

    thus,

    it

    could form

    the basis

    of

    teaching

    curricula.

    The

    second

    assumption

    is

    that nation states have identifiable

    cultural, socioeconomic,

    and esthetic

    aspirations

    and

    predictable

    patterns

    of

    lifestyle,

    which

    despite

    all

    their

    variegated

    hetero-

    geneities,

    exhibit at least

    a

    certain

    identifiable common

    cultural

    substance and

    provide

    the

    necessary

    tabula

    rasa on

    which

    modern

    design

    may

    be

    projected.

    When these

    general

    assumptions

    are

    applied

    to Asian

    design,

    new

    problems

    emerge. Despite

    dissensions,

    the

    contemporary

    mainstream

    concept

    of

    design

    in

    the

    West

    is

    in

    some

    vague

    manner

    connected with

    new sources of

    energy,

    technological

    break-

    throughs,

    mass

    production,

    minute

    specializations,

    and

    global

    quest

    for

    markets.

    It

    is

    perceived

    as a

    visible tool of

    both

    commerce and

    industry,

    carrying

    with

    it other

    legacies

    of

    nine-

    teenth andearlytwentieth century ideals, for example, that design

    could

    act as a

    leveler

    of

    society

    through

    more

    equitable

    accessibility

    to

    mass-produced

    goods

    as

    well as

    introduce

    a

    sense

    of

    clean,

    rational,

    impersonal

    order.

    This sense of rational

    order is a

    direct

    descendant

    of the

    Enlightenment

    ideology,

    which

    in

    Weberian

    terms

    produced

    the

    Western brand of

    capitalistic

    transformation

    of

    society.

    There

    were,

    no

    doubt,

    several variants to

    this

    historic

    Western

    model,

    but

    underlying

    it all

    were

    two

    central

    principles:

    The

    first was that

    modernization,

    of

    which

    design

    was

    but

    a

    tool,

    was endogenous, that society was capable of transforming itself

    from

    within,

    and

    where there was

    inadequate

    endogenous

    impetus,

    such as

    in

    Germany,

    the

    state would

    become

    a

    central

    agent

    in the

    transformation of

    society.

    The

    second

    principle

    was that this

    Design

    Issues: Vol.

    VI,

    Number 1

    Fall

    1989

    31

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    1)

    This

    oft-repeated phrase

    which now

    appears

    n its

    many

    variants,

    s

    believed

    to have been

    coined

    by

    the

    architect

    HermannMuthesius. ee

    Joan

    Campbell,

    TheGermanWerkbundPrinceton,NJ:

    Princeton

    University

    Press,

    1978),

    1.

    2)

    K. M.

    Munshi,

    Dynamics

    f

    Design

    and

    Technology:

    An Indian

    Overview"

    n

    DDSSEA.

    3) PennySparke,Culture ndDesignnthe

    Twentieth

    Century

    (Winchester,

    MA:

    Allen&

    Unwin,

    1986),

    particularlyage

    198.

    modernism ouldbe

    based

    n

    rationalism

    nd hus

    certain inds

    of

    particularist

    sthetics,

    alue

    systems,

    ontextsand

    cultures,

    religion,

    nd

    rites

    andrituals

    would

    be

    universallypplicable

    nd

    all

    embracing:

    "from

    the

    sofa cushion to

    urban

    planning."1

    At

    present,

    most Asians see First World

    technology

    and

    consumerism

    as handmaidens of

    design

    and

    harbingers

    of

    modernity. They hope

    to

    implant

    this combination

    on

    their soils

    and achieve

    comparable

    results.

    Perceived

    in

    such a

    manner,

    Asian

    design

    issues become

    closely

    interwoven

    with

    issues

    involving

    technology/design

    transfers from the

    First

    World,

    as well

    as

    problems

    associated

    with

    adapting

    new or

    changing technology

    to

    diverse

    economic,

    social, cultural,

    and

    political

    conditions.

    The

    issues then revolve around

    the current

    Third

    World realities of

    being

    "Late Comers"

    and often lead to self

    denigration

    at

    being

    slow learners.

    This,

    in

    turn,

    is then

    expressed

    in terms of

    frustrationsatpoor qualityandhighprices, stagnation, particularly

    in

    the

    field

    of

    industrial

    design,

    and as

    K. M.

    Munshi,

    an

    industrial

    designer

    from

    India,

    sums

    up:

    "while the rest

    of the

    world was

    changing

    fast,

    large

    Indian

    Industry

    remained

    stagnant.

    ...

    Product innovation

    was

    a

    far

    cry.

    Lack of

    quality

    bothered neither

    the

    buyer

    nor the seller."2 This situation

    was exacerbated

    by

    "protection,"

    captive

    markets,

    import

    substitution,

    and a whole

    range

    of

    developmental

    policies.

    Munshi

    continues that

    it was

    only

    in

    the mid-1960s that

    "design

    was

    recognized

    as one of the

    factors which could help exports." Seen from this point of view,

    the difficulties of

    writing

    Asian

    design

    history

    and

    discussing

    Asian

    design

    issues

    become obvious.

    How does

    one

    separate

    it

    from

    technology/design

    transfers,

    foreign

    aid,

    foreign

    trade

    and

    investment,

    International Patents

    Acts,

    government policies

    of

    import

    substitutions

    and

    export

    orientations,

    from,

    above

    all,

    the

    whole idea of

    development?

    Is

    there

    an

    Asian

    design history

    at

    all

    apart

    from the histories

    of

    all

    these

    with

    a

    few

    case studies

    of

    either

    successful

    or unsuccessful

    adaptations

    of

    First

    World

    design?

    How

    else does one write

    design

    history,

    how

    else does one

    approach design? Surely,

    to

    quote

    the

    following expression

    often

    heard

    in

    countries

    of Asia:

    "Design

    is

    an ancient

    activity

    even

    though

    a

    modern

    profession."

    What then is the

    link

    between the

    activity

    and

    the

    profession?

    The

    quintessence

    of

    contemporary

    design

    issues

    in

    Asia

    lies

    in

    the

    asking

    of

    these

    questions,

    in

    the

    provoking

    of

    new debates. Discourses on

    design

    are so over-

    powered

    by

    dominant

    First

    World

    methodologies

    that

    we must

    wait

    quite

    awhile

    for

    new

    approaches

    to evolve and

    be

    cogently

    articulated. Until

    then,

    Asian

    design

    issues

    will

    find mention

    under asmallsection, sometimes tellinglyentitled "Anti Design."3

    True,

    in

    India,

    for

    example,

    a

    number

    of

    very

    successful

    adap-

    tations

    have

    been

    made,

    particularly

    in

    the field of

    consumer

    goods.

    This

    applies especially

    to

    kitchen utensils and

    electrical

    32

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    4)

    Recently,

    the

    term

    has

    been

    changed

    into

    NIE,

    Newly

    Industrialized

    Economies,

    to

    accommodate

    Hong

    Kong,

    which will

    in

    1997

    be a

    part

    of

    the

    People's Republic

    of

    China.

    The "Four

    Dragons"

    are

    South

    Korea,

    Hong Kong,

    Taiwan,

    and

    Singa-

    pore.

    Japan

    was often

    referred

    to as

    the

    Big

    Dragon,

    but

    recently,

    the

    term

    has

    been

    associated with

    China more

    to

    indicate

    its

    huge potential.

    Peter

    Burger

    is believed to have been the first to use

    the

    term

    "vulgar

    Confucianism" to

    signify

    Confucianism

    and

    its

    value

    sys-

    tem,

    when

    operating

    under a

    free-market

    economy.

    It

    refers

    to

    values

    such

    as

    obedience,

    hierarchy,

    thrift,

    hard

    work,

    This-worldism,

    group mentality,

    and

    so

    forth,

    as

    the kind of

    qualities

    that made

    the

    Sinic

    brand of

    capitalism

    possible.

    gadgets,

    and some

    innovative

    designs

    ike an

    oxygenerator

    and

    solarrice

    cooker are still

    waiting

    o find local

    sponsors.

    However,

    extreme caution

    must be taken in the use

    of such a

    blanket

    erm as Asian

    design,

    or

    "Asia s

    One,"

    was a

    myth

    that

    had

    very

    ittle

    credibility

    venat

    the

    time t

    was

    beingpropounded

    and that

    died

    soon

    after

    Japan's

    defeat in World

    War

    II.

    Japan,

    with its

    elevated

    status as

    a First World

    power,

    and the

    "Four

    Little

    Dragons,"

    with their newest

    apellation

    as the

    newly

    industrialized

    ountriesof Asia or the NICs

    for

    short,4

    operate

    under different

    paradigms

    and constraints and

    are heirs

    to

    different

    historical

    egacies

    rom he

    larger

    ountries

    of South

    and

    Southeast

    Asia.In the

    early

    phases

    of the colonial

    era,

    Orientalists

    usually

    dividedthis

    huge

    continent into two

    vast cultural

    belts:

    Indic

    and

    Sinic,

    with a

    vague

    understanding

    hat all the

    land

    in

    between was

    Indo-China. Economists now

    speak

    in a

    neo-

    Weberianmanner of the common heritage of "secular"or

    "vulgar"

    Confucianism,

    which

    hascontributed

    o a

    Sinicbrand

    f

    capitalism.

    Until

    recently,

    Chinawasexcluded

    romthis vast

    and

    eminently

    uccessful elt

    composed

    of

    Japan,

    South

    Korea,

    Hong

    Kong,

    Taiwan,

    and

    Singapore.

    t

    is, however,

    n

    the

    opinion

    of

    some

    economists,

    at the

    point

    of

    being

    admitted

    as the

    big

    dragon

    into

    this

    comity

    of nations with

    the recent

    adoption

    of market

    socialism. Most

    developing

    countries of

    Asia

    have

    begun

    to

    perceive design

    in

    the

    contemporary

    First

    World

    model as

    an

    agentof capturingmarketsn anincreasingly ompetitiveworld.

    Hence,

    product

    differentiation

    s

    the

    buzz

    word.

    Two

    statements

    n

    the

    official

    apanese ublicationJapan

    ocus

    (January 989)

    summarize

    his

    approach.

    The first:

    "Today

    the

    technological

    evel

    of

    manufactures

    as

    become

    standardized....

    Thus,

    in

    order

    to

    provideproducts

    with

    individuality,

    he trend

    toward

    placing mportance

    n

    design

    s

    strengthening

    morethan

    ever before." The

    second:

    "The trend

    toward

    utilization

    of

    foreign

    designersby Japanese

    makers

    has

    become

    increasingly

    active

    since he end of the 1970s.

    To

    foreign

    designers,

    erhaps

    he

    short

    ife

    cycle of

    Japaneseproducts italics added)

    compared

    o

    those of

    the

    West,

    with

    even such

    items

    as

    cars

    undergoing

    frequent

    model

    changes,

    makes

    he

    Japanese

    market

    particularly

    attractive."

    This

    article

    ays

    no claim

    to address

    he

    complexities

    of

    the

    macroAsian

    design

    scene,

    but will

    limit

    itself

    to

    just

    a

    few

    of

    the

    crucial

    ssues

    in

    the lesser

    developed

    countries

    (LDCs)

    of

    Asia,

    particularly

    hose

    issues

    pertaining

    o

    India.

    In

    the 1960s

    n

    India,

    a few

    menof vision

    set

    up

    a

    modern

    design

    education center based on broad humanisticprinciples.The

    designer

    Charles

    Eames,

    one of

    the

    founders

    of

    the National

    Institute of

    Design

    in

    Ahmedabad,

    India,

    hoped

    that it be

    "concernedwith

    quality

    and

    the

    ultimate values of

    the

    human

    Design

    Issues: Vol.

    VI,

    Number

    1

    Fall

    1989

    33

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    5)

    Chee

    Peng

    Lim,

    "Appropriate

    and

    Inappropriate

    Transfers

    of

    Technology"

    in DDSSEA.

    6)

    Asoke

    Chatterjee,

    "Design

    in India: An

    Experience

    in Education"

    in

    DDSSEA.

    7)

    S.

    Balaram,

    "Decision

    Making by

    the

    Indian

    Government

    and Its

    Impact

    on

    Design"

    in

    DDSSEA.

    environment."

    The Ahmedabad Declaration

    on Industrial

    Design

    for

    Devel-

    opment, promulgated

    in

    January

    1979,

    stated in

    clear

    terms the

    role of

    design

    in a

    developing society.

    It

    called

    for

    (1)

    understanding

    the values of one's

    society

    and then

    defining

    a

    quality

    of

    life

    within

    its

    parameters; (2) seeking

    local answers

    for

    local needs

    by

    using

    local materials

    and

    skills,

    while

    making

    use

    of advanced science and

    technology;

    and

    (3)

    creating

    new

    values,

    addressingpriority

    needs,

    and

    preserving plural

    identities. The document recommended

    several

    ways

    in which these ideas could

    be

    put

    into

    practice.

    The

    recommendations

    included consciousness

    raising

    exercises,

    esta-

    blishment

    of

    well-planned design

    institutions,

    dissemination of

    knowledge,

    and the

    inculcation of new

    values

    throughout

    the

    country.

    This was a manifesto of

    appropriate

    design

    for the

    developing

    world.

    Ten

    years

    later,

    the

    same

    plea

    is

    made

    by

    Chee

    Peng Lim.5 Asoke Chatterjee, an educationist from India,

    commenting

    on the

    practical application

    of these

    ideologies,

    stated

    in

    unambiguous

    terms:

    "Yet,

    the

    original inspiration

    for

    bringing

    design

    to

    this land

    (India)

    .

    .

    . remains

    virtually

    untouched. Basic needs

    ... are outside the

    designer's purview,

    challenging

    the conscience

    of this

    young profession

    and

    its ancient

    inheritance."6The

    questions posed

    are,

    therefore,

    centered

    around

    educational ideals

    and

    pragmatic

    realities

    and

    are

    inextricably

    woven around

    theories

    and

    policies

    of

    development

    -

    will

    the

    benefits trickle down? Must the emphasis be on acquiring the

    necessary

    sophisticated

    skills

    and

    experience

    in

    operating

    on

    that

    more international

    sector,

    or must the

    relevance

    or irrelevance

    of

    a

    design

    skill

    be

    constantly

    tested and

    contested?

    Beginning

    with

    the

    1970s,

    according

    to S.

    Balaram,

    another

    industrial

    designer

    from

    India,

    the

    design profession

    began

    to

    gain

    respectability

    in

    the

    country

    but

    not

    necessarily

    entirely

    in

    the

    manner

    envisaged by

    the

    Ahmedabad

    Declaration.

    A

    small

    number of

    professional

    designers, numbering

    600

    in

    all,

    found

    themselves

    in

    great

    demand,

    with

    many

    of

    them

    absorbed

    in

    the

    more

    glamorous

    types

    of

    activities,

    leading

    to Balaram's

    wry

    remark

    that,

    in

    the

    1970s,

    the

    "designer

    star"

    was born.7 This

    glamour

    image

    was

    promoted

    primarily

    by

    the

    wealthy,

    private

    consumer

    sector,

    where

    design acquired

    a snob value and

    some-

    times

    snugly

    fitted

    in

    with

    traditional

    aspirations

    of

    ostentation

    associated

    with

    oriental

    courtly

    life.

    The

    image

    of

    ostentation

    at

    the

    extreme end of

    the

    economic

    and

    cultural

    spectrum,

    now

    appears

    in

    the

    super

    affluent

    circles

    in

    the

    form

    of

    "mega-

    marriages,"

    where

    high technology,

    affluence,

    and

    fantasy

    provide

    a strangecombination in which professional design help is sought

    to

    create the

    desired ambience.

    Computer-aided

    design

    and

    laser

    technology

    are used

    to

    inscribe

    on

    the blue firmament

    two hearts

    being pierced

    by

    a

    common

    arrow,

    with

    the

    names

    of the bride and

    34

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    8)

    Shou

    Zhi

    Wang,

    "The International-

    ization of

    Design

    Education:

    A

    Chinese

    Experience"

    in

    DDSSEA.

    9)

    A number of

    works have

    appeared

    on

    this

    subject.

    I

    refer the readers to two

    short

    articles on the

    subject:

    Amartya

    Sen,

    "Public

    Sanction and

    Quality

    of

    Life in Developing Countries," inOxford

    Bulletin

    of

    Economics and

    Statistics

    (No-

    vember

    1981),

    287-319.

    Richard

    Robison,

    "Structure of

    Power

    and

    Developmental

    Strategies

    in

    Southeast Asia:

    Policy

    Conflict in a

    Changing

    World

    Economy"

    in

    DDSSEA.

    groom dutifully

    nserted.Such

    extravaganzas

    re

    being planned,

    at

    the time of

    writing,

    for the

    opening

    of the French

    National

    Festival

    in

    Bombay,

    which

    will

    introduce more

    technological

    gimmicks

    o a

    very receptive

    audience.

    This

    festival s

    a

    French

    response

    o

    the

    IndianNational

    Festivals,

    which,

    n

    their

    attempt

    to createa favorable

    mpression

    f India

    abroad,

    ontribute o

    a

    high-societyprofile

    for the

    design profession.

    These events are

    highly azzed-up

    occasions hat

    provide

    ndividual

    esigners

    with

    opportunities

    to obtain lucrative national

    and

    international

    contractsandadda

    certain

    quality

    of

    glamour.

    This

    is,

    however,

    a

    mixed

    blessing.

    In

    the

    Philippines,

    his

    flamboyant mage

    was

    a

    part

    of the

    "Imelda

    Cult,"

    fostered

    by

    the

    formerFirst

    Lady's

    form of

    patronage

    f

    art and

    design.

    There are

    major

    variants o this

    design approach

    and to the

    range

    of the

    spectrum

    from

    country

    to

    country

    and

    between

    sectors withineachcountryin Asia. But there is an underlying

    unity

    marked

    by heavy

    relianceon

    imported

    models.

    Shou

    Zhi

    Wang,

    a

    design

    historian

    rom

    Guangzhou,categorically

    tates,

    "China

    had no

    modern

    design

    education

    until

    the late 1970s.

    Design

    educationhas been formed

    mainly

    n

    Western

    countries.

    Without an

    international

    design

    educationstructureand

    curri-

    culum,

    China has

    no

    way

    to

    develop

    its

    own

    structure and

    curriculum."8

    ompetition,

    an

    open-market

    conomy,

    and

    export

    drives

    are

    seen

    as

    the

    necessary

    timulants

    or

    design

    activity.

    The

    NIC

    model

    s far oo

    overpowering

    nd he

    temptations

    o imitate

    Hong Kong

    far oo

    strong

    n

    motivating

    China

    n

    its

    drive

    oward

    modernity

    o

    enable

    any

    thought-provoking

    debatesto

    emerge

    just

    as

    yet.

    Whether he NIC modelcan at

    all

    be

    replicated,

    iven

    the

    dramatic

    changes

    in

    the

    geopolitical

    and

    geoeconomic

    situations and vast

    differences

    n

    cultural

    specifics,

    and what

    precisely

    s to

    be learned

    rom

    this

    model

    are still

    baffling

    the

    developmentalists.9

    he

    design

    schools in China

    are meanwhile

    gearing

    hemselves o

    capitalizing

    n

    their

    cheap

    abor actorand

    on

    imitating

    Western

    design,

    as a

    part

    of

    the

    export

    drive.Fashion

    magazines

    re

    coming

    of

    age

    in ChinaandThe Central

    Academy

    of Arts

    and

    Design, Beijing,

    has launched ts first

    issue of a

    magazine,

    ntitled

    Design.

    The

    magazine

    s

    in

    Chinesebut

    with

    a

    table

    of

    contents

    n

    English.

    This

    publication

    will,

    n

    all

    ikelihood,

    be the first

    of the tidal

    wave

    of

    information n First

    World

    design,

    and

    o

    resist

    being

    swept

    awayby powerful

    idal

    waves s

    difficult,

    particularly

    after an era of

    parched

    isolation. The essential

    question

    s

    whether his

    approach

    o

    design

    s a

    necessary

    orollary

    to the

    formsof

    development

    planned,

    particularly

    n

    the wake

    of

    the failureof statecapitalism.

    If

    design

    s

    viewed

    from

    this

    perspective,

    and

    very

    few

    cogent

    alternative

    ways

    of

    seeing,"

    o

    use

    an

    expression

    f

    John Berger,

    have

    emerged,

    hen the Proton

    Sagas

    and

    the

    Marutis,

    et

    al.,

    are

    Design

    Issues:

    Vol.

    VI,

    Number

    1 Fall

    1989

    35

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    simply appendixes

    in

    the histories

    of

    Western/Japanese design,

    at

    best,

    and

    footnotes,

    at worst. Their issues

    are

    closely

    tied

    with

    open-market

    economy,

    competition, global

    markets,

    and so

    on,

    which are issues

    vital for survival

    but, nevertheless,

    in

    too

    embryonic

    a

    stage

    as

    far as

    design

    is

    concerned

    for tomes to

    be

    written.

    This

    early

    stage

    of

    development

    is a

    contributing

    factor

    to

    the absence

    of books

    on Asian

    design

    (other

    than

    Japanese)

    or

    even

    a

    good design

    magazine.

    There

    is

    just

    not the confidence

    yet

    to write one nor

    is

    there

    a

    consensus as

    to

    what

    exactly

    is this

    alternative

    way

    of

    perceiving design,

    even

    though

    there

    is

    a

    growing

    feeling

    among

    a

    minority

    that there

    exists,

    or

    certainly

    ought

    to

    exist,

    another

    way

    of

    approaching

    the whole

    subject.

    Design

    issues

    in

    Asia,

    I

    feel,

    have

    to

    be

    perceived

    in

    the context

    of

    this

    slowly emerging

    "new

    ways

    of

    seeing"

    and

    in

    all the

    open-

    ended

    questions

    that are

    being

    asked.

    Although

    some

    questions

    raised areonly of regionalrelevance,others areglobaland form the

    part

    of a worldwide concern

    on the

    manner

    in

    which

    development

    is

    taking place.

    If

    design

    is

    perceived

    as

    an

    ancient

    activity

    that has

    gone

    on for

    several

    centuries

    rather than

    as

    a

    brand new

    profession,

    then

    our

    whole

    perception

    of what constitutes

    Asian

    design

    begins

    to

    change

    and,

    thenceforth,

    issues

    pertaining

    to Asian

    design

    assume

    different forms.

    The transition

    from

    seeing things

    in

    terms of

    continuity

    to

    seeing things

    in

    terms of

    discontinuity

    marks the

    principalbreak between traditional design and modern design.

    Colonialism

    and

    the

    erratic

    pace

    of

    postindependence

    industri-

    alization have caused

    considerable dislocation

    in

    countries

    such

    as

    India. The

    designer's

    main task in

    these

    countries

    is

    to

    operate

    at

    the levels of

    protohistoric

    continuities and chaotic discontinuities

    and to introduce

    a

    sense

    of order

    into

    this

    highly fragmented

    environment.

    The

    design

    profession

    must

    cope

    with

    both

    endogenous

    and

    exogenous agents

    of transformation.

    This

    sit-

    uation

    possibly

    accounts

    for

    the

    operation

    of dual

    forces:

    a

    very

    great capacity

    for

    integration

    and modernization

    and

    very

    powerful

    mechanisms

    of

    exclusion

    and

    marginalization.

    Designers

    who

    wish to

    address the

    issues of

    the

    marginalized

    majority

    must start

    a

    brand

    new

    learning process

    and

    attune

    themselves to

    different

    socioeconomic

    realities

    and cultural behavior

    patterns.

    There

    exists no

    common

    vocabulary

    between

    the

    integrated

    and

    the

    marginalized.

    The

    present-day dynamic

    blend of

    pragmatic

    functionalism and

    ideological

    mass

    consumerism

    is

    very

    new

    in

    Asia. It

    is

    a

    part

    of

    a

    new

    evangelical post-War/post-Colonial

    capitalism,

    a

    creed that

    was introduced in much of Asia at about the same time that the

    concept

    of

    development

    was

    becoming

    a

    much debated issue.

    Modern

    design

    schools were set

    up

    to

    cope

    with

    the massive

    import

    substitution that

    followed

    on

    the wake

    of

    independence.

    36

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    10)

    Mahrukh

    Tarapor,

    "Art

    Education in

    Imperial

    India:

    The Indian

    Schools

    of

    Art" in

    Changing

    South Asia:

    City

    and

    Culture,

    Kenneth

    Ballhatchet and

    David

    Taylor,

    eds.

    (Published

    for

    the

    Centre of

    South

    Asian

    Studies,

    University

    of

    London,

    1984),

    92.

    11)

    Mahrukh

    Tarapor,

    "Art

    Education

    in

    Imperial

    India:

    The Indian

    Schools

    of

    Art."

    These were

    quite

    distinct

    from the

    nineteenth

    century

    art or

    industrial

    rts,

    or artand

    ndustry

    chools hat

    wereestablished

    n

    differentcenters

    of the British

    Empire

    n

    India.

    The

    rise of these

    industrialarts schools and

    the nineteenth-

    centurypolemics

    nvolved

    n the

    setting

    up

    of these schools

    not

    only

    forman

    nteresting hapter

    n the Arts andCrafts

    movement

    in the Britishcolonies

    overseas,

    but throw

    light

    on someof

    the

    legacies

    of industrial

    design

    in India.

    In the Industrial

    Arts

    Exhibition in London

    in

    1851,

    the Indian

    pavilion

    attracted

    enormous

    attention

    and

    the whole collection

    of East

    India

    Company

    exhibits

    were

    bought

    for a new British museum

    to

    provide

    "the

    highest

    instructional

    alue to students

    n

    design."

    The

    expressed

    hope

    was hat

    by exposure

    o the

    suggestiveness

    f

    some of

    these

    Asian

    design

    elements

    the

    "vulgarities

    n

    art

    manufactures

    . .

    of

    England

    . .

    may

    be corrected."10 his

    not

    onlyconfirms he existenceof design raditions nIndia,but also

    and much

    more

    important,

    hrows

    ight

    on the manner

    n

    which

    oriental

    design

    was

    perceived

    by

    members

    of the Arts and

    Crafts

    school

    who

    werethe mainconnoisseurs

    f these exhibits.

    On

    the

    adviceof

    people

    such

    as

    William

    Morris,

    he decision o

    establish

    arts and

    ndustries chools n Indiawas

    made.

    Soon, however,

    he

    changes

    n the forms

    of

    patronage, oupled

    with

    the

    long,

    drawn-

    out

    arguments

    between

    the

    Occidentalists and

    Orientalists,

    totally

    altered he

    aims

    of

    design

    education

    n

    India.

    Both British

    andOccidental ndiansbelieved hat whatoughtto be taught n

    these

    schoolsshouldbe

    Western

    nineteenth-century

    cademic rt

    and

    crafts

    usefulfor the needs of

    the Public

    Works

    Department.

    Schools

    were set

    up

    in

    new,

    big

    colonial

    towns,

    which

    had no

    traditionof

    crafts.Not

    surprising,

    he

    early

    tudents

    were

    rejects

    from

    the formal

    institutions

    of

    learning."

    The new

    forms of

    buildings

    nd

    ifestylesrequired

    raftsmen nd

    workerswho

    could

    adequately arry

    out

    instructions

    basedon

    designsprovided

    rom

    Britain,

    nd

    soon the

    colleges

    of

    artand

    ndustry

    became

    ulturally

    aridand

    produced

    mechanistic,

    oulless

    objects.

    The

    poor

    quality

    of

    crafts

    exhibited

    just

    20

    years

    ater

    in

    the

    1871

    exhibition

    dramatically

    evealed

    he

    damage

    done

    by

    this

    system

    of

    design

    education.

    The

    so-calledcrafts as

    part

    of the

    great

    tradition

    slowly

    withered

    away

    but

    continued

    o

    surviveas

    rural

    subsistence

    modes of

    production.

    Both

    the

    systems

    of

    patronage

    and

    the social

    categories

    under which

    they

    operated

    were

    transformed,

    ot

    by

    predominantly ndogenous

    orcesborn

    of

    economic

    intellectual and

    industrial

    transformations,

    but

    mainly by

    exogenous

    factors and

    at an

    immense

    speed.

    The

    transformationswerealso very sectoral,both in the groupsof

    people

    they

    affected

    and

    in

    the areas

    of

    activities

    they

    touched

    upon.

    This

    sectoral

    aspect

    made

    the holistic claim

    of an all-

    embracing

    design

    philosophy

    from "sofa

    cushion to

    urban

    Design

    Issues: Vol.

    VI,

    Number 1 Fall

    1989

    37

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    planning"

    untenable,

    for

    the

    key

    characteristic

    f these

    trans-

    formationswere

    ragmentation.

    he new

    studentsof

    design

    were

    not drawnfrom

    the

    ancient craft sector but from

    the modern

    educational

    ystem,

    and raditional raftsas sourcesof

    inspiration

    often had to

    be relearned.

    The new

    design

    schoolswere

    nheritors

    f

    a new

    tradition.This

    wasthe

    age

    of Bauhausian

    deologiesbeing transplanted

    nto the

    Indian

    soil

    by

    teachers

    rained n

    the eminent

    design

    schools of

    Europe.

    t

    was

    also

    broadly

    he

    age

    of Le

    Corbusier's

    Chandigarh

    and Nehru's vision

    of a new

    India,

    decolonized, modern,

    and

    international,

    poised

    for

    an

    industrial

    takeoff.

    These

    were

    symptomatic

    f the

    new

    age

    n

    Asia.

    This new

    age

    was

    marked

    by

    the

    hope

    and

    conviction

    that

    by

    the

    right

    mix of

    technology

    and

    capital

    nput

    and

    by

    the

    rightdegree

    of

    government

    ntervention,

    the

    country

    could take

    a

    giant step

    from

    medieval,

    eudal,

    and

    colonial nequalityo enlightened emocracyndamoreequitable

    distributionof wealth

    while

    establishing

    rational,

    ecular

    ense

    of order. The

    change

    was to be

    accomplished

    y

    administrative

    fiats

    and

    large

    doses

    of

    government

    ntervention

    o

    offset the

    inadequacy

    f

    endogenous

    orces

    of

    change.

    No

    wonderthen that neither

    of

    the

    terms

    design

    nor

    develop-

    ment

    have

    natural

    equivalents

    n most

    of

    the Asian

    linguistic

    traditions,

    for

    they

    carry

    with them all the

    ideological

    under-

    pinnings

    of First

    World

    associations,

    aspirations,

    and

    debates.

    This

    realization and, more recently, the deep dissatisfaction that

    has followed this

    realization,

    both from

    an

    ideological/cultural

    as

    well as

    a

    pragmatic point

    of

    view,

    has led to some

    very

    serious

    soul

    searching among

    the

    thinking designers

    of Asia

    in

    recent

    years.

    On the

    pragmatic

    plane,

    this soul

    searching

    was

    prompted by

    the

    recognition

    of two

    sad

    home truths.

    First,

    post-war

    political

    independence

    failed

    to

    generate

    for most of

    the Third World

    countries of Asia

    national,

    international,

    or structural

    indepen-

    dence.

    Second,

    the unbalanced

    growth

    within the Asian

    nation

    states

    has

    generated

    a kind of

    maldevelopment, creating

    a

    "twin

    nation"

    syndrome

    in which a

    low-growth,

    near subsistence-level

    majority

    economy

    coexists with a

    high-growth, minority

    elite

    sector. The latter is marked

    by

    a

    sharp

    rise

    in

    expendable

    incomes,

    thereby

    fueling

    a

    consumer boom.

    Both

    of

    these are forms

    of

    dependency,

    that

    is,

    internal

    and

    external,

    and

    both

    have led

    to

    insecurity,

    imbalance,

    unequal

    exchange,

    and

    finally exploitation.

    The

    means

    and

    goals

    of

    development

    have become

    enmeshed in a

    structure based on

    consumptionpatterns

    and

    propensity

    o

    consume,

    often

    at the

    cost

    of

    deprivation

    and

    drainage

    of

    the other social

    strata, especially the bottom quarter.

    Some Asian

    LDCs,

    such as

    India,

    have not

    yet

    been able

    to

    produce

    a

    coherent,

    consistent,

    grassroot-oriented

    development

    approach

    and

    model. "There is

    talk of a

    self-reliant

    model

    on

    the

    38

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    12)

    Amalendu

    Guha,

    "An

    Alternative Self

    Reliant

    Development, Why

    and How:

    South

    Asia

    in

    the Global

    Perspective"

    in

    Changing

    South Asia:

    Development

    and

    Welfare,

    Kenneth

    Ballhatchet

    and

    David

    Taylor,

    eds.

    (Centre

    for South Asian

    Studies,

    University

    of

    London,

    1984).

    one

    hand and imitation

    of

    the Western

    maldevelopment

    model

    on

    the other hand."12The First World's

    models of

    development

    are

    consumption-demand-creative

    and,

    hence,

    consumerist,

    labor

    saving

    and, therefore,

    capital

    and

    technology

    intensive,

    and,

    finally, overdeveloping."

    The

    designers, caught

    in this

    schizo-

    phrenia

    of

    developmental

    models are

    expected

    to

    be sensitive

    to

    and

    operate

    at

    disparate

    levels of ethnic

    specificity

    and

    economic

    disparity

    and

    come

    to

    grips

    with

    grassroot

    problem

    solving.

    This

    task is so mind

    boggling

    that much of the

    design

    discourse

    often

    degenerates

    into verbal

    platitudes,

    at

    worst,

    and

    sporadic

    con-

    science

    easing

    exercises,

    at

    best. For

    example,

    even the

    most

    talented and

    well-meaning

    architects and

    designers

    have

    been

    accused

    of

    having

    a double

    personality

    -

    on the one

    hand,

    the

    international-conference

    image, upholding

    appropriate

    and inno-

    vative

    technology/design,

    and,

    on

    the

    other,

    the hard-core

    reality

    of the upper-crustclient's need of imitating FirstWorld lifestyles.

    Even

    if

    the

    cynics

    are

    right,

    the discourse

    is at

    least

    bringing

    certain

    issues to the

    forefront;

    repeated

    verbalization

    must

    rub

    off,

    and several new

    projects

    are

    being designed

    with

    local

    sensibilities

    in

    mind.

    Design

    education curricula are

    planned

    with

    long-term

    objectives

    in

    mind,

    and

    the

    young

    designers

    trained

    in

    these institutes should look

    for models to suit

    specific

    needs.

    The

    resumes of

    design

    students

    looking

    for

    jobs

    show

    increasingly

    well-designed

    lists of

    projects

    undertaken

    to

    solve

    problems

    of

    basic needs. This observation is not made in a purely cynicalvein,

    for

    role ideals

    are

    at

    least

    being provided,

    even

    if

    they

    are not

    always

    easy

    to transform

    into

    tangible

    realities.

    There

    is an

    idealistic

    element

    in

    the

    learning process.

    Imported

    solutions

    to local

    problems

    have

    proved

    unworkable

    in

    many

    cases,

    either because

    of cost or the total

    alienation of the

    solution

    from the

    reality

    of

    the

    problem,

    or

    a

    combination

    of

    both.

    Low-cost

    housing

    has

    proven

    too

    expensive

    to benefit those

    for whose

    benefit it was

    originally planned,

    has

    failed to

    take into

    consideration

    the socioeconomic

    and

    psychological requirements

    of the

    targeted occupants,

    or,

    simply,

    has made

    a

    mockery

    of

    what

    the

    programs

    were

    supposed

    to

    stand for.

    A

    classic

    example

    of the

    last

    phenomenon

    is

    the

    creation of Islamabadas

    the Islamic

    capital

    of Pakistan

    which has as

    much of

    the essence

    of

    Islam in

    its

    architecture and town

    planning

    as

    a

    supermarket

    complex

    in

    downtown

    Boston.

    This

    search

    for

    an

    appropriate

    cultural model and

    apprehension

    at the

    loss of

    cultural

    identity

    was

    effectively

    voiced

    by

    Lee

    Kwan

    Yew,

    Singapore's

    Prime

    Minister,

    when he

    expressed

    the

    fear

    that

    Singaporeanswould become the flotsam and jetsam of Western

    mass

    culture

    floating

    on Asian

    waters. Cultural

    and

    economic

    divides

    (and

    their related

    issues)

    form a

    part

    of

    the

    problem

    for

    designers

    in

    their

    quest

    for a

    "modern" and

    "national" visual

    Design

    Issues: Vol.

    VI,

    Number

    1

    Fall

    1989

    39

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    13)

    See Milton

    Singer,

    ed.,

    Traditional

    India:

    Structure

    and

    Change

    (Philadelphia,

    American Folklore Society, 1959).

    Pre-

    face and Introduction

    by

    Milton

    Singer.

    identity.

    This "common culturalsubstance"

    hat

    makes nations

    con-

    sistingvaguely

    of

    national deasand

    products

    s in

    most

    countries

    of

    Asia,

    in a

    queer

    manner,

    n a state of

    becoming

    and a state

    of

    being

    at the

    same ime.13

    This

    process

    of cultural

    ransformation

    and of constant

    attempts

    at

    defining

    and

    redefining

    ulture n

    a

    self-consciousmanner s

    part

    of the existentialist

    anxiety

    of the

    newly

    emerging

    or

    newly

    decolonized states

    of

    Asia,

    be

    it

    of

    American-dominated

    hilippines

    or

    British-dominated

    South

    Asia.

    With decolonization nd he

    achievement

    f

    independence,

    his

    interest

    n

    restating

    ne's

    culture

    has

    received

    nofficial

    definition.

    Language,

    national

    history, archeological

    monuments,

    olk arts

    and

    crafts,

    classical

    music, dance,

    and dramahave become

    symbols

    of

    modern national

    identities,

    alongside

    the national

    emblems,

    Five Year Plans, parliamentaryinstitutions, and atomic instal-

    lations. The definition

    is

    selective

    and

    creative.

    A

    traditional

    culture,

    notably

    that of

    large

    countries such

    as

    India,

    is too vast

    and

    variegated

    to be

    displayed adequately

    in

    Republic

    Day

    parades,

    and not

    all

    cultural traits are

    regarded

    as

    suitable for

    display.

    It

    is

    thought

    best for

    some

    to wither

    away

    in

    provincial

    obscurity.

    Those cultures that become active

    visible

    symbols

    of the

    officially sponsored "unity

    in

    diversity"

    ideology undergo

    a

    tremendous change by the very nature of their new roles. Tribes

    that are

    expected

    to

    perform

    a

    fertility

    rite

    dance

    every

    time a state

    dignitary

    arrivesor that are

    exported

    as

    parts

    of National

    Festivals

    acquire

    a

    certain

    self-consciousness and a new kind of

    fossilization.

    Quite

    often,

    a

    living

    culture

    with a

    primordialist

    identity

    uses

    this

    identity

    as an

    instrument to

    acquire

    economic

    resources,

    regional

    autonomy,

    and

    political power.

    When

    these

    expectations

    are not

    met,

    the

    claim

    to be the

    only

    "sons

    of

    the soil" is

    voiced

    and all

    others are

    boycotted

    as aliens. How

    much

    of

    cultural

    pluralism?

    What

    aspects

    of

    culture? What kind

    of

    identity?

    The

    nation

    state,

    by

    its

    very

    existence,

    is

    expected

    to act

    as an

    agent

    of

    change

    in

    integrating

    the

    whole

    country

    by suppressing

    active

    primordialist

    loyalties

    and,

    yet,

    promoting

    cultural

    awareness

    as

    a source

    of

    creativity.

    As an

    agent

    of

    modernization,

    it

    is

    expected

    to

    absorb

    imported

    technology

    and

    create

    the

    right

    infrastructure for these

    exogenous

    forces to be

    adopted

    and

    indigenized.

    What

    form will

    a

    centrally patronized

    plural

    culture

    adopt?

    What visual

    means

    of

    cultural

    identity

    should

    the

    mass media

    portray?

    Regional?

    National? Mixed?

    In

    what

    proportions?

    Here too designers have the dual task of documenting and

    understanding

    ethnicity

    and

    regional

    cultures,

    for

    understanding

    them is

    the

    essential

    first

    step

    to

    evolving

    a

    medium

    of visual

    communication

    and

    restoring

    local confidence

    in

    an

    age

    when

    40

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    traditional institutions

    are

    crumbling

    fast and benefits

    of

    industrialization re

    yet

    to trickledown.

    Documenting

    hitherto

    undocumented

    nd ittle-understoodmaterialhas becomeone

    of

    the

    main

    educational

    asks of the

    enlighteneddesign

    schools

    of

    Asia.

    The

    National Institute

    of

    Design

    in

    Ahmedabad, ndia,

    or

    example,

    has accumulated ast amounts of information

    on

    the

    lifestyles

    andsocioeconomic onditionsof

    people iving

    nseveral

    regional

    belts.

    To be

    involved

    in

    the

    task

    of

    helping

    local

    craftsmen

    mprove

    heir tools of

    operation

    or introduce

    hem to

    elementsof

    modern

    design,

    he

    introducer

    must know

    what

    they

    know,

    where

    their talents

    lie,

    and

    underwhat social and

    market

    forces

    they operate.

    This basic

    information

    s

    unavailable

    as

    mainstream

    econdary

    ducation

    providesvery

    ittle

    provision

    or

    understanding

    onditions near

    the

    home

    of

    the

    students,

    and

    institutions

    of

    knowledgeparticularly

    n

    English

    medium

    chools

    cater to students who have little understandingof majority

    culture.

    The

    inculcationof

    sensitivity

    o local

    environments

    nd

    empathy

    with

    peopleworking

    under onditions utside

    parameters

    of

    middle class

    urban

    existence is one of the tasks that

    design

    educators elieve s

    imperative.

    Despite

    all

    attempts

    and n

    spite

    of

    winning

    design

    awards,

    he communicationmedia

    n

    India still

    remain emote rom

    the

    common

    manor woman.

    Evidence s seen

    in a

    recent et of

    award-winningosters

    or

    contraceptives

    oneas

    part

    of

    the social

    marketing

    f a

    birthcontrol

    program

    the faces

    of an affluent, beaming family of three adorn the posters. The

    unappreciated reality

    in

    the

    cases

    of the

    underprivileged

    is that

    having

    a

    large

    family

    often

    means more chances of

    economic

    survival as

    children

    are

    hired out

    from the

    ages

    of

    six

    and

    seven

    to

    act as

    factory, agricultural,

    or

    domestic

    labor.

    One

    cannot

    help feeling

    a certain

    sense of

    deja

    vu,

    of

    going

    back

    to the turn of the

    century

    when

    the

    full

    impact

    of the

    first wave of

    Western ideas

    and

    technological power

    was first felt. At that

    time,

    the intellectuals

    sought

    answerseither

    in

    wholesale

    Westernization

    or

    in

    returning

    to their native

    roots. The Asian

    response

    to the

    first wave

    of Western ideas

    and

    technology produced

    the

    Alisjahbanas

    and the

    Kemal

    Ataturks,

    the

    Nehrus

    and the

    Gandhis,

    the U

    Nus

    and the Ho

    Chi

    Minhs.

    There

    are,

    however,

    major

    differences.

    The

    West

    represented

    to

    the

    educated

    Asian a

    pool

    of ideas:

    the

    Protestant work

    ethic

    and utilitarian

    liberalism,

    scientific

    rationalism and

    philosophic

    positivism,

    socialist roman-

    ticism and Marxist

    radicalism,

    and

    above

    all,

    self-righteous

    nationalism,

    operating ironically

    enough

    within

    the framework of

    unacceptable

    colonialism.

    Above

    all,

    it

    stood for an

    ordered,

    planned environment, both physical and cultural, ideologically

    neat and

    physically sanitary.

    The West then was a

    source of

    inspiration

    for

    Asian

    thinkers,

    even

    as

    they

    were

    plotting

    the

    overthrow of

    Western

    rule,

    and

    Western

    thought

    trickled down

    Design

    Issues:

    Vol.

    VI,

    Number 1 Fall

    1989

    41

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    13/19

    to the massesafter

    going through

    several

    ievesand filters.

    The

    present-day

    econdwaveof

    Westernism

    or,

    more

    strictly

    speaking,

    "First Worldism"

    for

    Japan

    s

    a

    great

    trendsetter)

    s

    vastly

    different.

    t

    consistsof

    a

    massconsumer-oriented ovement

    that has reached

    remote

    village

    societies.

    National

    VCRs

    and

    Sony

    TrinitronTVs

    havebecomehousehold

    aspirations,

    esulting

    from

    unprecedented

    dvancesn information

    echnology.

    So the

    average

    new "Westernizer"

    n

    Asia

    has a new faith

    in

    a

    kind of

    acquisitive

    ndividualistic

    hedonism,

    expressed

    on a

    large

    scale.

    This holds that

    what

    gives

    the individual

    maximum

    material

    pleasure

    s

    the

    moral

    good

    and hat the most

    ideal orm

    of

    pleasure

    is to

    be defined

    in terms of the

    acquisition,

    possession,

    and

    consumption

    of material

    objects. Traditionally,

    his

    philosophy

    wasmeant

    only

    for the

    feudal

    ords;

    currently,

    t

    is the

    part

    of

    mass

    expectations

    and,

    without

    proper

    distributive

    policies

    and

    operatingunderconditions whereonly a few of the traditional

    checks are still

    valid,

    it

    could

    become

    an

    overwhelmingly

    es-

    tructive orce.

    This trend

    s

    buttressed

    by

    two factors hat have

    come

    nto

    play

    during

    the

    past

    decade.

    Asian labor is

    being

    exported

    to other

    countries.

    In

    1986,

    for

    example,

    15

    million Indianswere

    living

    abroad.

    In

    the

    remote hills of

    Hunza, Pakistan,

    many

    have

    returnedafter

    working

    n

    West

    Germany,

    where,

    thanksto the

    efforts

    of the

    Aga

    Khan,

    hort-term

    ontractsare

    workedout

    for

    the

    Hunzakites.

    Pakistanis

    ave

    or

    ongbeen

    drawn

    o

    the

    oil

    rich

    Middle East.

    Apart

    from this

    personal

    contact,

    exposure

    to

    foreign

    education

    and

    foreign

    media has exerted

    a

    tremendous

    influence n the

    consumptionpatterns

    of the elite

    minority

    ector

    within these countries.This

    exposure

    coincideswith a

    period

    of

    new

    and

    vigorous

    consumerism

    n

    the

    West and a

    virtual

    explosion

    n all

    forms

    of the

    entertainment

    media.

    The third wave of First World

    thought

    is

    concerned

    with

    ecology

    and

    quality

    of

    life. This

    prompted

    he

    New Year ssueof

    Time

    magazine

    o nominate he

    planet

    Earthas

    the

    planet

    of

    the

    year,

    with the

    caption

    "Endangered

    Earth" nsteadof the usual

    "Man

    of the Year." Such fears

    are understood

    only by

    a small

    minority

    worldwide

    and

    by

    even a

    smaller

    minority

    in

    the

    developing

    countries. The

    argument

    often

    heard

    from indus-

    trialistsandmanufacturers

    ndeven from

    the

    general

    populace

    s

    that

    ecological

    considerations

    re the luxuriesof the

    developed

    world. The

    race

    for

    development

    must

    go

    on

    and the

    only

    rules

    that

    areknown o have

    succeeded

    n

    the

    past

    are

    he

    ones that the

    First

    World,

    after ts

    own

    success s

    assured,

    has

    finally

    begun

    o

    question.Concernedpeople,visualcommunicatorsncluded,are

    trying

    to raisethe

    consciousness

    of

    those around hem

    to

    these

    vital issues.

    Meanwhile,

    he dominanteconomic

    elites

    in

    these

    countries,

    totaling

    a

    vast

    number

    ven

    f

    they

    area small

    percent

    of

    the

    total

    42

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    14)

    Doreen

    Fernandes,

    "Mass

    Culture

    and

    Cultural

    Policy:

    The

    Philippine Exper-

    ience"

    in

    DDSSEA.

    population

    of the

    Asian

    LDCs,

    constitute

    a

    market

    that is

    qualitatively learly

    differentiated rom the

    majority

    ubsistence

    sector

    and

    heirdemands redifferentnot

    only

    in

    degrees

    but also

    in

    kind.For

    example,

    ust

    18

    percent

    of India's

    1,000

    publications

    are

    n

    English,

    but

    they

    account or

    more han

    half

    of

    all

    the

    money

    spent

    on

    printed

    advertising.

    Industrial

    goods, private

    cards,

    office

    furniture,

    and

    anything

    o do with

    slightly sophisticated

    technology

    s

    advertised

    nly

    in

    English.

    The reason s

    because he

    top

    10

    percent

    of the

    professional

    and

    modern

    business sector

    alone

    constitute the market and this affluent

    intelligentsia

    s

    English

    educated.

    Anyway,

    most advertisement

    designers

    and

    copywriters

    would be too

    completely

    divorced rom

    the

    native

    Indian

    sector to

    be

    able to

    produce

    a

    decent

    advertisement

    exercise

    n

    any

    of

    the

    vernacular

    anguages.

    he

    recruiting olicies

    of

    advertising

    irms

    only

    accentuates his

    phenomenon,

    as

    their

    copywriters remainlydrawn rom the Englishspeaking ectors,

    who can

    spot

    the international

    rends.

    Thus,

    restatements f

    culture renow

    receiving rgent

    attention

    from

    totally

    different

    quarters

    and for

    completely

    different

    reasons.

    What

    is similar

    about first

    wave and second wave

    responses

    o external

    stimuli,

    however,

    s

    the concernof

    intel-

    lectuals

    with

    issues

    of culture. There is

    also a

    great

    deal of

    skepticism

    ssociated

    with this self-conscious

    esigning

    f

    culture.

    Thus,

    Doreen

    Fernandes,

    who is

    actively

    involved with

    the

    Aquino Government'sdecisionsregarding ulturalpolicy, ex-

    pressesdeep

    concernabout what she calls

    "the

    giant

    inferiority

    complex"

    of the colonial

    mind,

    which

    makes

    a

    Filipino

    "dress,

    sing,

    dance American"

    and

    where the

    American

    dream

    is

    inextricably

    woven

    with

    images

    of

    "Dynasty,"

    "Miami

    Vice,"

    and

    "L.A. Law."14

    he

    Allianceof Artists is

    clamoring

    or a

    rejuve-

    nation

    of national

    cultureand

    asking

    he

    Aquino

    Government o

    form a

    Ministry

    of

    Culture.

    On

    the other

    hand,

    there are

    people

    suchas

    Alfred

    Yuson,

    poet

    and

    novelist,

    who

    disdainfully

    ismiss

    attempts

    at

    Filipinization

    f

    culture

    as

    just

    "another

    romide,

    ike

    democratization."The

    key question

    is the definition of what

    constitutesa

    Filipino

    culture

    and

    this is crucial

    o

    the visual orm

    that

    it

    will

    take

    in

    the

    years

    o

    come

    -

    will it

    be subsumed

    under

    mass

    American

    ultureor

    will

    its

    designers,

    rchitects,

    ndartists

    give

    it a new

    value

    system?

    Modernization

    n

    most Asian

    countries

    is

    seen as

    a

    willed

    mobilization

    of

    forces

    by

    the

    state.

    In

    most

    of

    these

    countries,

    he

    government

    s not

    only

    a

    major

    client

    -

    a

    buyer

    of

    products

    and

    services but also

    the

    agent

    of

    change,

    and,

    hence,

    designers

    n

    Asiafeel that theyhave o lobbytheirrespectivegovernmentso

    introducenational

    designpolicies

    hat

    will

    dovetailwith

    develop-

    mental

    policies,

    thereby

    making design

    an

    agent

    of

    the visual

    manifestationof

    the

    ideologies

    of

    development.

    Thus,

    if

    the

    Design

    Issues:

    Vol.

    VI,

    Number 1

    Fall

    1989

    43

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    15) S. Balaram, "Decision Making by the

    Indian

    Government and its

    impact

    on

    Design."

    fundamental im of the

    developmentalist

    s

    to

    provide

    national

    confidence

    and

    self-reliance

    nd

    bring

    in

    some

    sense of

    equity,

    visible

    symbols

    of this

    confidenceand

    self-reliance

    will

    have o

    be

    shownnot

    only

    in the

    styles

    of architecture

    dopted,

    but also

    in

    the materials

    and

    processes

    adopted,

    the manner

    of

    advertising

    undertaken,

    the

    styles

    of

    clothing

    exhibited,

    the nature

    of

    products

    manufactured,

    and the skill in

    converting

    modern

    imported

    technology

    into

    products

    distinctive

    for the

    specific

    needs of the

    people.

    In an

    economically

    nd

    culturally

    plintered

    society,

    this

    overall ohesive

    planning

    or "the

    common

    good,"

    as

    the utilitarians would

    have

    phrased

    it,

    is not an

    easy

    task.

    Nonetheless,

    here s an

    ntenseawareness f and

    a

    desire

    o

    foster

    autonomousand

    indigenous

    developmentamong

    designers

    and

    developmentalists.

    The British

    architect,

    Lawrie

    Baker,

    often called

    "the

    only

    IndianArchitect,"advocatesmudbuildings,not onlyastheonly

    solution

    to the one

    family,

    one

    home idea

    n

    India,

    but

    also

    from

    the

    point

    of view of the amount

    of

    energy

    nvolved

    n

    producing

    the material.

    He

    concedes

    hat for mud

    buildings

    o be

    acceptable,

    the

    right

    statusassociations

    wouldhave o be

    provided;

    cceptance

    should start with the

    upper

    middle

    class,

    the

    moneyed

    people,

    even

    the

    Prime

    Minister

    iving

    in mud

    houses. ASTRA

    (Appli-

    cation of

    Science

    and

    Technology

    for Rural

    Areas)

    has

    built

    a

    whole

    complex

    of school

    buildingsusingcompressed

    arth

    blocks

    in the southernIndiancity of Bangaloreor the childrenof the

    Indian

    nstituteof Science taff

    members.

    This

    complex

    seems o

    work

    very

    well and to

    withstand all

    the

    pressures

    of school

    children's

    oi

    de vivre

    Such an

    approach

    o

    design

    is a

    part

    of

    a

    historical

    egacy

    of

    India,

    a

    continuation of

    the Gandhian

    ideology,

    and

    owes its

    origins

    to

    the

    days

    of

    the

    swadeshi

    (literally,

    an

    adjective

    meaning

    "of

    one's

    own

    country"

    and

    denoting

    objects

    locally produced

    with

    indigenous

    material

    and local

    skills)

    movement,

    which

    combined

    economic realism

    with

    the

    political power struggle

    against

    British

    colonialism.

    This

    Gandhian ethos

    pervaded

    the

    Indian

    environment

    in

    the form

    of

    the

    handloom,

    homespun

    cloth,

    the

    khadi,

    the low

    Indian

    stool,

    the vernacular

    dwelling,

    the

    village

    handcrafted

    slippers,

    and a

    whole

    lifestyle,

    attitudes,

    and

    values that

    were

    inculcated with

    the sole

    purpose

    of

    giving

    Indians

    a

    sense of

    confidence and

    cultural

    dignity

    in

    an

    age

    of

    foreign

    domination.

    Gandhi had an

    almost

    uncanny

    intuition

    of

    investing

    objects

    with a

    meaning.

    Following partly

    on this

    model,

    Balaram

    advocates

    a

    Maoist

    operational

    tactic

    of

    evolving

    a

    system

    of

    "barefootdesigners,"'5who could servethe craftsector

    desperately

    in

    need

    not

    only

    of

    design

    input

    but

    also

    of

    design

    management,

    with all

    its

    ancillaries such as

    marketing, legal

    aid,

    etc.

    Another

    talented

    designer,

    Dasarath

    Patel,

    denounces

    the

    present

    system

    44

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  • 8/9/2019 Ghose saab

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    16)

    S.

    Balaram,

    "Decision

    Making

    by

    the

    Indian Government

    and its

    impact

    on

    Design."

    17)

    S.

    Balaram,

    "Decision

    Making by

    the

    Indian

    Government and its

    impact

    on

    Design."

    of

    arranging roduction

    anddistribution

    f

    goods

    as

    a

    newform

    of

    colonialism

    operating

    withinthe

    country,

    he

    exploitation

    of

    the

    village by

    the

    city

    and the

    expropriation

    of the

    profit

    by

    the

    middleman. uch

    designers

    ee their

    role as

    "mediators,"

    appro-

    priating

    technology

    from a structure

    hat

    is inaccessible o the

    common

    man"

    and

    see

    the answer

    in

    providing

    the

    village

    craftsmen he

    necessary

    onfidence

    o create

    objects

    hat will

    have

    local

    relevance.

    They

    see themselvesas advisors

    on the choice of

    materials

    and

    processes

    within

    the

    reach

    of the

    impoverished

    craftsmen

    and as

    rejuvenators

    of the

    vernacular

    skill

    and

    understanding.

    They

    see

    design activity

    as

    a

    team

    activity,

    a

    participatory

    ctivity,

    and as

    closely

    related

    o

    raising

    he

    social

    awareness

    nd self-confidence

    f

    people.

    Thus,

    as

    Balaram

    oints

    out,

    use of CAD/CAM

    for

    designing

    a

    moreeffective

    basicsickleor

    a

    bullock

    cart

    n

    Indiashouldnot be

    seenas an anachronism ut as a necessaryand innovativeuse of

    technology

    for a

    society operating

    under

    two

    widely disparate

    levels.16

    Again,

    graphic

    designers

    houldaddress

    he

    problems

    of

    the

    uneducated

    washermanwhose own

    traditional

    methods of

    identifying

    clients'

    washing

    s

    severely

    being

    put

    to

    trial

    by

    the

    complexities

    of

    urban ife.

    Projects

    such

    as these undertaken

    by

    the

    design

    students,

    even

    f

    done

    only

    during

    he idealistic chool

    days

    when

    they

    are

    removedfrom the

    harsherrealities of

    job

    hunting,

    reflect

    attempts

    at

    redefining esign

    and

    placing

    t within

    a morecomplexsocialandpoliticalparadigm.

    Designers

    are

    beginning

    o

    redefine

    heir

    role

    in

    the context of

    the search or

    self-confidence,

    he need

    o face ocal

    problems,

    nd

    the readiness

    o come

    up

    with

    dignified,

    elevant,

    nd

    esthetically

    pleasing

    solutions. There

    are

    few stories

    of

    success to serve

    as

    inspiration

    or

    others to follow.

    The

    emphasis eeps

    shifting

    romcultural

    dentity

    as a

    sourceof

    confidenceand self-awareness

    nd,

    hence,

    self-enrichmento the

    simple practical cry

    that

    imported

    design

    solutions are not

    functional.YasmeenLari

    summarizes he

    plight

    of

    the

    Karachi

    slum

    dweller,

    who,

    whenrehoused

    n a

    modern

    block of

    flats,

    had

    just

    one

    simple

    query

    of the

    developer

    nd he urban/architectural

    planner:

    Where

    shall

    I

    house

    the

    chickens?Chickenswere not

    luxurypets

    but a

    life-sustaining

    ubsidiary

    ourceof

    income

    for

    the

    family.

    Balaram

    pointed

    out the

    case

    of

    the fishermen

    n

    Madras,who,

    when

    they

    were rehoused

    in

    modern

    high-rise

    apartments,

    ented

    heir ow-cost

    housing

    and

    movedback o the

    slumson

    the beach.17

    he old slumshave

    a

    well-developed

    ocial

    structure nd

    provided

    he

    necessary

    ecurity

    o

    its

    inhabitants

    n

    times of need.The self-containedlatsystemscouldbeeffectively

    operatedonly by

    the

    slightly

    more

    affluent,

    with

    access o other

    infrastructural

    enefits.

    Pakistan

    nd

    some

    states

    n

    India

    have

    not

    realized he cost-effectiveness f

    upgrading

    nformal

    ettlements

    Design

    Issues:

    Vol.

    VI,

    Number

    1 Fall

    1989

    45

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  • 8/9/2019 Ghose saab

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    18)

    Lam

    Lai

    Sing,

    "Construction

    Services

    for

    Export:

    Policy

    and

    Prospects

    of

    Singapore's

    New

    Industry"

    in DDSSEA.

    19)

    Nimal De

    Silva,

    "Cultural

    Identity

    in

    Sri

    Lankan

    Architecture"

    in

    DDSSEA.

    20) IshwarbhaiPatel starteddesigningcheap,

    sanitary

    latrines for

    the

    economically

    deprived

    sectors,

    and his

    humble,

    indi-

    vidual

    efforts led

    to

    the

    establishment

    of

    Safai

    Vidyalaya

    in

    Ahmedabad,

    which

    has undertaken

    a

    crusade

    against

    the

    uncivilized

    conditions

    under which

    the

    untouchables

    have to

    work in

    India

    as

    toilet

    cleaners.

    More than one

    and a

    half

    million

    toilets

    have been

    built under

    the

    auspices

    of

    this institute.

    21)

    There

    are

    several

    cases one

    could cite

    as

    examples

    of

    design

    for

    need,

    but

    on the

    whole, it still remains a much neglected

    area.

    Recently, government-sponsored

    programs

    for the

    design

    of

    waterpumps

    in

    villages,

    the

    eradication

    of

    illiteracy,

    the

    improvement

    of health

    and

    hygiene,

    and other

    programs

    have been

    launched,

    and

    attempts

    are

    being

    made

    to introduce

    a coordinated

    drive

    in which

    designers

    work with a team of

    people

    from

    other

    disciplines.

    rather

    han

    resorting

    o

    slum clearance.

    On the one

    hand,

    while

    Singapore

    s

    exporting

    ts construction

    skills

    all

    over

    Asia

    and

    puttingup

    multistoried

    tructures

    n

    China

    and even

    in

    Brunei,18

    ri Lanka

    is

    restricting

    the

    heights

    of

    buildings

    to four

    stories.

    As Nimal

    De

    Silva,

    the architect

    conservationist

    rom

    Colombo

    pointed

    out,

    apart

    rom

    the issue

    of

    retaining

    cultural

    dentity

    nthe builtenvironment,heLDCs

    working

    with

    less-efficient

    provisions

    for

    putting

    out fires and

    usuallypoorer

    maintenance tandards ould

    hardly ope

    with

    the

    safety

    hazards

    posed

    by

    multistoried

    blocks.19When a

    high-rise

    building

    becomes

    either

    a

    status

    symbol

    of

    modernity

    r

    a

    product

    of the excessive

    greed

    of

    land

    speculators,

    he solution has to be

    sought

    on

    the

    basisof the local conditions.The

    designers

    ealize

    that the modern International

    Style

    cannot

    be a

    standardized

    method

    of

    solving

    problems.

    The

    Lawrie

    Bakers

    and the

    Ishwarbhai atels20nd he YantraVidyalaya realltheinheritors

    of the

    philosophy

    of

    alternative

    design

    and the basic needs

    approach

    o

    development,

    whichhad ts

    heyday

    n

    the

    West

    in

    the

    1970s.21

    Furthermore,

    here

    s

    quite

    another

    dimension

    of

    design

    n

    the

    LDCs of Asia. The

    faith

    that

    design

    will,

    in

    conjunction

    with

    modern

    marketing

    nd

    management

    ractices,

    lsoevolve

    products

    for both the

    sophisticated

    marketsat home

    and

    the international

    markets.

    In

    short,

    design

    and

    development

    s

    a

    quest

    for non-

    standardized nswers

    n

    an

    age

    of

    standardization,

    here he

    faith

    in

    standardization,

    e

    it

    of

    specifications

    or

    a

    product

    or

    culture,

    is seen

    as a

    simple,

    economic,

    andefficient

    answer.

    Economies

    of

    scalean